strange is a good word for it

So it's been a while since last we talked. The past week or so has been a strange mix of "not a whole lot going on" and "holy crap this is awesome I'm having a great time".

Yeah, strange is a good word for it. My time here in Paris is getting a little weird.

For starters, on several occasions in the last week I've seen lonely pirates and/or crowds of zombies walking the streets. Are the Parisians gearing up for Halloween? It's hard to say, as they don't really celebrate the dark holiday here, like we do back in the states. I'm beginning to think they're just plain old crazy.

Another strange phenomenon? Time. I find it strange lately because of the way it seems to slip by unnoticed, while at the same time lingering about, not budging in the least. It's already reaching the end of October -- my second month in Paris -- and I have no clue where the month went. The semester is halfway finished, as evidenced by the midterm exams happening this week. And yet, it still feels like I have an incomprehensible amount of time lying ahead of me. I can't see the end. Which is normal, I guess. Try to picture 7 more months in your head...

Strange as well are my recent twinges of homesickness. I'm just simply beginning to miss America (no, not her). It's not anything that makes me want to quit this whole Paris adventure, but it's definitely real. I'm becoming more and more at ease in France, but I miss the familiarity and ease that comes with living in the states. There's just not as much to worry about. I have to admit: I gave in to nostalgia and finally set foot in a McDonald's last night. Oh, the horror, I know. After spending the evening watching a ballet (more on that in a moment), Joanna (from IES) and I decided that we wanted to eat something delicious, non-nutritious, and homey. Hence, our trip to the golden arches. I have to say, despite the awkwardness of French McDo, it was delectable.

Yeah, I went to a ballet. Actually, two ballets in the past couple weeks (so strange...). They were both adaptations from popular films. The first: Edward Scissorhands (or Edward aux mains d'argent for the francophones out there); the second: Les enfants du paradis ("Children of Paradise", a 1940s French film). They were both very well done, and I was highly impressed. But I liked Edward better. Mainly because it didn't feel as much like an actual ballet.

The coolest (but still, somewhat strange) experience I've had recently was the hat party thrown by my family this past saturday night. They called it a Fête à Chapeauter, (chapeauter being a completely made up verb stemming from the French word for "hat"). It was fun actually interacting with real French people in a social setting. My host family made delicious food. The guests brought expensive wine. And damn was it classy. It so happens that most of my host family's friends and acquaintances are musicians, so we were treated to operettas and other classical tunes sung or played on piano and cello. Oh, it was very French...

Apart from all this strangeness, and aside from a brief visit from Mr. William C. Irvin himself, school and my internship have occupied most of my time. Midterms are this week, and although I only have 3 exams, homework is piling up like so many leaves in a forgotten gutter. That's not to say that it's too much for me to handle. Although my Arabic class worries me. I really don't want to have to drop it, but it just might be above my level. We shall see...

This weekend, I'm going to a Ni Putes Ni Soumises conference in Dourdan, a (supposedly nice) suburb of Paris. It will be three days of debates, forums, and general information gathering about women's rights in the Euro-Mediterranean countries. I'm going to be volunteering in some capacity, but I really haven't a clue as to what my role will be. But I'm looking forward to it. Next weekend is my fall break, so I'm heading off to historic Vienna, Austria. While I'm there I think I'm going to hop on a bus to spend a day or two in Bratislava, Slovakia, as it's only about 50 km (I believe?) away. In a couple more weeks, I'm catching a train to Brussels, Belgium, to visit Brianna and the European Union parliament building. This is all very exciting. I feel so lucky to get to do all this traveling while I'm here. I can hardly believe it all.

Reason to Love It: Spending most of dinner tonight teaching my host parents the differences between the words life, live, leave, leaf, and leaves. They all sound so very similar, you know.

Reason to Leave It: The random way autumn asserts itself in Paris. Some days are gorgeous. Some are hideous. Most are a mixture of the two. Today, for example, started off with a chilly morning, peaked with a beautifully sunny afternoon, and ended with a freezing cold, rainy evening. Make up your mind!

Happy Travels

-- Cody